How you turned my world around
by Gleefulbabe
Summary: Fanfic about Jem and his girlfriend when they're seventeen. When something happens that will change their lives forever, how will the Finches come to terms with the fact that they'll soon be getting another Finch?
1. Chapter 1

**I know this sounds awfully clichéd but I'm studying this book for my exams and I totally fell in love with it. I decided to write a fanfic about Jem, Scout, Atticus and co. when their a couple of years older. Also I'm introducing a character of my own who is going to be Jem's girlfriend. I'm not going to give anything about the plot away but let's just say it's what I do best :p! Enjoy!**

"Good morning, miss." Jeremy Finch smiled and chivalrously outstretched his good arm to his girlfriend, Cecelia Ashley-Cooper for her to take. Cecelia was an extremely beautiful girl; she long long dark brown wavy hair that fell halfway down her back, olive green eyes and the nicest smile ever seen. Jem, who was an inch off six foot, stood nearly a foot above her petite figure. The two had met when they were fifteen and had been dating for the past two years.

Cecelia sighed. "Is it?" The mid-morning sun was by no means strong, but it felt like it had been constantly beating down on her since she got up. Ignoring Jem's attempt at chivarly, Cecelia gently rubbed the back of her hand against her cheek, wiping away the layer of moisture that clung to her skin. She was hot, way too hot. It was as if she was a star; glowing from the heat. Cecelia flinched when she thought of that word: _glowing_.

Jem frowned and sat down next to his girlfriend on the bench. "Is everything okay, 'Celia?" He couldn't help but think he knew where this was going. His heart started beating harder.

A million things were going through Cecelia's mind at that moment, so much so she was dizzy. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Jem..." She whispered, her voice co mpletely emotionless.

That one little word, his name, was all it took for all Jem's suspicions to be confirmed. It had certainly been something that had been playing in the back of his mind since that night. _That night_. Jem thought to himself and it suddenly became harder to breathe. "Are you sure?"

Cecelia nodded her head. "Never been _more _sure. We're having a baby, Jem."

Funily enough, the first thing that came to Jem's mind after being told he was going to be a father was: "Atticus is going to kill me!"

Cecelia smiled half-heartedly. "It sure is going to take some getting used to.! She told him and looked down at her noticably larger stomach. She couldn't believe that there was a little Finch growing in there.

_Cecelia constanty tossed and turned in her bed. The clock on the wall read two thirty, but she was nowhere close to falling asleep. Her father was sound asleep in his room as always. Cecelia just lay there. She wasn't aware how long it had been, but after some period of time, she heard a noise outside and her body stiffened. There was someone outside her window. _Damnit, I'm going to be murdered. _Cecelia resolved in her head. Suddenly she heard a voice whispering her name and quickly loosened up again. She was absolutely going to kill him. Cecelia hurried over to her window and opened it to see her boyfriend standing there. "Jeremy Finch, you nearly scared the life out of me!" She chastened him. "What on God's green earth are you doing outside my window at-" Cecelia looked at the clock, "- Three o' clock in the morning?"_

_Jem chuckled. "I'm sorry I frightened you. Fancy taking a bit of a midnight walk with me?"_

_Cecelia raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"_

_Jem nodded. "Just down yonder apple tree." He said it as though that would completely convince her._

_Cecelia bit her lip. "Jem it's like three degrees out!" She informed him but when she saw the disappointed look on his face, she decided to make a compromise. "Come in."_

_Jem looked at her like she had three heads. "Excuse me?"_

_Cecelia rolled her eyes and tugged his hand. "Get in before someone sees you!" It wouldn't be unlike Miss Stephanie Crawford to be watching out her window even at that hour of the morning. Jem did as he was told. It didn't go un-noticed that he looked very awkward. Cecelia just smiled and led him over to her bed. Jem kicked off his shoes and both their hearts were beating considerably faster. Cecelia slowly pulled her night dress over her head, revealing her baby pink under wear. Jem looked completely shocked. "Put your hands on me Jem." She whispered against his chest. Jem wasted no time._


	2. Chapter 2

After being asked how Cecelia was by Scout at dinner, Jem immediately changed the subject. He was going to tell Atticus about her pregnancy that night but he wasn't ready to tell him just yet. Jem needed to figure out exactly what he was going to say and the idea of telling him on front of Scout, Calpurnia and Uncle Jack, who was staying with them for a while, didn't bode well with him. "Could you pass the ham please Uncle Jack?" He asked just as Scout was asking him. His evasiveness didn't go un-noticed by Atticus, who eyed him curiously.

_All you have to do is make it through dinner, _Jem told himself, _then you can get Atticus by himself and tell him. _Even his own mind wasn't completely convincing himself. Truth be told, he was scared. Not just about telling Atticus that he got his girlfriend pregnant, but about what life was going to like for her from now on. Jem had never heard of a couple getting pregnant outside of marriage in Maycomb, especially at the age of seventeen. People (Miss Stephanie Crawford mainly) were going to talk about her like she was trash, ten times as much as they were going to talk about him. For some strange reason, it was always the girl that got blamed even though it was the boy's doing.

He hadn't realised but Jem had slipped into a trance and it wasn't until he heard Atticus saying Jem repeatedly that he snapped out of it. Jem looked up from his plate to find Atticus, Scout and Uncle Jack staring at him with surprised and worried looks on their faces.

"Is everything okay son?" Atticus wondered, obviously aware that something was getting Jem down.

Jem hesitated. "Can I talk to you in private after dinner?"

Scout looked at him like he had three heads and Uncle Jack raised an eyebrow but Atticus remained indifferent. "Sure, son."

Scout on the other hand was having none of it. "Anything you can say to Atticus you can sure say on front of me and Uncle Jack, Jem! If it's as serious as you're makin' it out to be, then we're both going to find out sooner 'r later so you might as well tell us now." Something dawned on her and Jem's heart skipped a beat. "You got kicked outta school!" She assumed.

Jem drew a sharp breath. "No Scout, I'm afraid it's worse than that."

"What in the Sam hill could be worse than getting kicked out of school?" She said disbelievingly.

Uncle Jack decided to intervene. "Now Scout, if Jem wants to talk to Atticus in private, he's entitled to do so."

Jem wasn't sure what he wanted and decided to give in. Scout was right, they were going to find out soon anyway, why not let them all be shocked together. "Alright, I'll tell you," he sighed, completely aware that he was going to drop to biggest news ever on his completely unsuspecting family, "Atticus, Scout, Uncle Jack... Cecelia is pregnant."

For once in all the time Jem had know him, Atticus looked bewildered. "Wow... Son, that's... I..." He was completely lost for words but didn't seem completely mad.

Uncle Jack, to Jem's completely surprise, smiled broadly and shook his hand. "Congratulations Jem!"

Scout, who had only recently learned where babies came from courtesy of Miss Maudie, was disgusted. The thought of her brother doing what it takes to make a baby with his girlfriend was completely and utterly repulsing. "Ew." she scrunched up her nose.

Atticus stiffled a laugh but Uncle Jack did not hold his amusement back. Scout was outnumbered. She still had her innocence, even if it was hanging by a thread, but the three Finch men were already very clued in.

"Jem is getting older, Scout," Atticus began to explain, "What he did is a natural part of growing up." He tried to put it as delicately as possible.

Scout was horrified. "Well _I'm_ never going to do that! And if that means I never grow up than that's fine by me!"

Uncle Jack chuckled again. "Of course you will Scout. How do you think your mom and Atticus had you?" He was highly amused by the whole situation.

That time both Scout _and _Jem wrinkled their noses. The thought of their father doing that with anyone, even if it was with their mother, was totally unthinkable, an image that they certainly didn't want in their minds.

Atticus fought hard to keep a smile of his face. "That's enough, Jack. I'm sure Jem and Scout would prefer to remain blissfully ignorant as to how they got here." He was right. "Congratulations, son. I have no doubt that you and Cecelia will make great parents." Atticus said sincerley.

Jem immediately felt lighter. There was no way he could have predicted such a positive outcome. "Thank you Atticus." He was very touched.

"Speaking of which, where is the mother-to-be?" Jack wondered happily.

Jem then wondered how things were getting on with Cecelia. "She's at home. She said that she was going to tell her father tonight."

As soon as the words had left Jem's mouth, the smiles quickly disappeared from Atticus and Uncle Jack's faces. They exchanged worried looks, but whatever they were thinking was quickly interrupted by a frantic knocking on the front door...


	3. Chapter 3

Cecelia played nervously with her hands as she awaited her father's return from work. Telling Jem that she was pregnant wasn't a fifth as bad as telling her father was. She had no idea how he was going to react and that really scared her. _Please god don't let him be drunk_. Cecelia thought desperately to herself as she stood on the brink of tears in her kitchen.

She heard the front door open and it wasn't until then that Cecelia realised she had made the complete wrong decision. She should have got her stuff and went to Jem's before he got home. She wouldn't have been able to hide her pregnancy from him forever but at least she had protection from Jem and Atticus and even Jack. Here she had nothing. There was no-one standing between her and her unborn baby and her father, who was not known for his level-headedness.

"Cecelia!" Her father, James Cooper, called from the hall.

Cecelia squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. He wasn't drunk. "In here daddy!" She called, trying to compose her voice as best as possible.

James walked into the kitchen and looked at his daughter with pure hate. "There you are. Pour me a glass of whiskey." He ordered her as he hung up his coat.

Cecelia ignored his request. "There's something I need to tell you, daddy." She told him quietly, as tears filled her eyes.

Her father scoffed. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me "daddy"? You're not six."

Cecelia scoffed. It wasn't as if he let her call him daddy when she was six either. He always tried to distance her as much as possible. "Are you listening?" She wasn't going to say this to him more than once.

"What? Oh yeah, you want to say something. By all means, continue." He replied mockingly whilst getting a generous-sized glass from the press.

She took a deep breath. "I'm having a baby." Cecelia told him firmly.

James froze for a moment before turning around. He looked at her with pure disgust. "Excuse me?"

Cecelia flinched. "I'm going to have a baby."

Her father clenched his teeth. "I heard what you said, you little whore!" He shouted at the top of his lungs and threw the glass he was holding at the wall behind her with all his force.

She started crying. "I'm so sorry daddy! I didn't mean for it to happen, I swear!"

James was quickly cornering her. "Oh you're sorry? Not as sorry as you're going to be when I'm finished with you!" He screamed and slapped her across the face with all his force, sending his daughter flying backwards onto the floor. He grabbed a knife off the kitchen table with one hand and then pulled Cecelia off the floor with the other.

She knew this was going to be the end for her. She was only sorry for Jem and his unborn baby. _I love you both._ Cecelia thought as her father's hand squeezed her neck. He raised the knife in his right hand. She shut her eyes tight but instead of feeling the kitchen knife penetrating her skin, Cecelia heard glass smash and she quickly fell from her father's grasp, hitting her head on the hard floor and knocking herself out in the process.


End file.
